The caller reported that the assailant was the victim's own mother, according to sheriff's deputies.

The caller additionally stated that the mother was attempting to perform an exorcism on the child, who'd been stripped naked as the mother allegedly shoved handfuls of sand into her eyes and mouth.

Despite the mother's insistence she was trying to remove demons from the child, cops say local man John Marciel intervened and attempted to restrain the mother, 45-year-old Kimberly Felder.

The local man "struggled on the ground with Felder, while Felder continued her persistent attack on the child by hitting the child in the head with a piece of driftwood," according to a statement from the sheriff's office.

A short time later, a sheriff’s deputy arrived and reportedly pulled Felder away from the child and placed her in handcuffs.

Emergency Medical technicians arrived and took the little girl to a hospital, where she received further treatment.

The child endured multiple injuries from the attack, including severe damage to her right ear, according to police.

Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies believe Felder would have killed her daughter it hadn't been for Marciel's help.